Classic Minerals has confirmed it is on track to commission its Kat Gap gold processing plant in Western Australia’s Goldfields Region later this month.
The “flagship” Kat Gap project has an existing 93,000 ounces of gold JORC Resource and has been the focus of the majority of the company’s recent exploration efforts in the lead-up to plant commissioning.
Located approximately 50 km south of the company’s Forrestania gold project, the Kat Gap plant is designed to have an initial processing capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes per annum, while offering expansion upside.
Important milestones
Classic Minerals has identified the commissioning and completion of all construction requirements at Kat Gap as a milestone in the lead-up to the commencement of gold production.
The company initially purchased the Gekko designed Kat Gap gold gravity processing plant in July 2020 after identifying it as being well suited to processing Kat Gap ore which has a unique high gravity gold concentration.
The current on-site construction is being undertaken by experienced contractor IPS (Industrial Power Solutions Pty Ltd).
Classic Minerals management said it has worked closely with IPS throughout the construction process to ensure that all aspects of the facilities are designed, built, and tested to the highest specifications.
Mining plan
The company has identified a three-stage mining plan based on the benefits of having mineralisation located only seven metres below surface – offering the potential for processing initial bulk sampling to potentially generate a revenue stream.
Classic Minerals reported recently it had successfully transported a 6,504 tonnes bulk sample of pit ore from the Kat Gap mine site to the processing facility during the March quarter.
The bulk sample has an estimated average grade of 4.82 g/t for 1,011 ounces of contained gold.
Exploration upside
The company has identified significant upside at Kat Gap where the open-ended deposit lies within a five kilometre long geochemical gold anomaly which has undergone very little drill testing to date.
The company recently reported that the continuation of Kat Gap follow-up RC drilling is one of its main June quarter activities.
Drilling is testing the down plunge extent of high-grade gold mineralisation beneath existing shallow near surface gold mineralisation on the identified granite-greenstone contact.
Classic Minerals holds a 100% interest in the gold rights on the Kat Gap tenements and also non-gold rights including but not limited to nickel, lithium and other metals.
